A Visit to the World Cup Stadium in Durban

In Durban, a one-hour flight from Johannesburg, I stayed in the Beverly Hills, a five-star hotel with an Indian Ocean view. After a visit to a crocodile zoo and a mock Zulu village from the 1800s, we set off for some snorkeling off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Our tour guide, Andy, gave us a shark-warning pep talk: if you see a shark, don’t panic or swim away. Stay calm and the shark would leave you alone. I didn’t buy it.Our speedboat ride felt more like a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster than the Queen Elizabeth. I started off enjoying the cold splashes from the Indian Ocean and watching as dozens of dolphins surrounded the boat, but after just 20 minutes I was seasick and had to lie down. But at least I survived without a shark encounter.

The following day we headed to Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, which will host seven World Cup matches. (The first, Germany v. Australia, is June 13.) Tourists and locals were buying soccer apparel and souvenirs at the warehouse-like gift shop. Many people were purchasing yellow jerseys, the official jersey of Bafana Bafana, South Africa’s national team. (It seemed everyone in South Africa owned one, and most everyone wore one on Fridays—“Football Day.”)

We rode the SkyCar to the top of the “Arch of Triumph,” which curves over the stadium and has quickly become a popular tourist attraction. The cable car costs 160 Rand (about $22), and travels to the highest point on the steel arch—almost 350 feet off the ground. We could see the ocean and much of Durban, and we peered down through the opening in the roof at the stadium’s seats, all shaded orange and blue and deep green. The panoramic view reminded me of the London Eye.

It was a beautiful sight, but there were better sights to come. In a few hours I’d be flying to Cape Town, where I’d tour the magnificent new stadium at the foot of Table Mountain.

Laura Lane is a senior reporter for OK!, a weekly magazine, and is a contributor to ESPN.